ECG strike 'unacceptable' - ACEP

The Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) has criticised the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) for neglecting its consumers.

Staff of the power distribution company have been on a series of demonstrations and strikes to fight the proposed privatisation of the state-owned utility.

“We find this unacceptable considering the effects of several years of erratic power supply already suffered by industrial, commercial and residential consumers,” the energy think tank said in a press statement released on Wednesday September 7, 2016.

The Public Utility Workers Union (PUWU) last week directed workers of ECG not to attend to official duties until government backed down on its concession plan. PUWU argued that the action was in protest to what it described as a disrespectful attitude showed it by the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) regarding the concession plan.

The strike left several customers of ECG stranded with some sleeping in the dark for days because they could not have access to prepaid units.

The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) later indicated that it would sanction the MD and workers of the firm for going on the strike.

ACEP in its statement signed by Executive Director Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, appealed to ECG workers “to consider the impact of their action on consumers who have not been served well by ECG over the years and review their actions to give way to genuine consultations”.